Impact of virtual reality on performance among undergraduate healthcare professionals: A cross-sectional study

In recent years, Virtual Reality (VR) has been increasingly used to train healthcare professionals. However, certain aspects of its application, such as the relationship between VR environments, training, and Sense of Presence (SoP), have yet to be explored. SoP impacts learners' performances in certain learning situations, whereas in others, it does not. This study aimed to investigate the impact of VR, including SoP, on immersive mass incident simulation performances. A cross-sectional study was performed by immersing 83 undergraduate students (ambulance attendants, student nurses, and medical students) in a VR simulation. Questionnaires were administered before, during, and after the simulation to assess variables impacting non-technical skills. The results revealed that SoP was not associated with performance (P = 0.66). However, performance was associated with the learners' perceptions of the VR environment (P = 0.008). Therefore, the impact of environmental perception on performance should be considered, allowing instructors to promote optimal training in VR. Moreover, SoP may impact performance in certain types of learning, like emotional skills training. Thus, VR should be chosen as a simulation modality to encourage reflexivity through rapid feedback and learning skills in the affective domain.